The Rave and the First Men

Museum of Anthropology : 

Museum of Anthropology A fairly large museum located inside of the UBC campus. Filled with sculptures and artifacts from around the world, most of which are from the Haida people of BC , but also many pieces of art and sculptures from countries like India, Tibet, Mexico, China, and Africa. The curator of the museum was Mr. Sue's father in-law so we got in free.

Slide 2: 

Some pictures of the artwork in the museum and the and campus itself.

The Haida people : 

The Haida people Are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest of North America, and are known for their amazing robust sculptures. They express their art in forms of huge wooden carvings ( i.e totem poles large carvings. ) Many if which are being shown across BC and abroad. Here are some pictures of the wooden carvings from the museum.

Slide 4: 

Haida Artwork

Bill Reid : 

Bill Reid Born January 12th 1920, died March 13 1998. One of , if not the most famous Haida artist. Father was German mother was Haida, learned of his background from his grandfather.

Slide 6: 

Bill Reid started taking lessons from his grandfather who was also trained by a very skilled Haida artist. He then went on to have a very successful career. One of his most famous sculptures is the one on the $20 dollar bill, which is also in the Vancouver airport.

Slide 7: 

And now my favourite piece of artwork from the museum....

“The Raven and the First Men” : 

“The Raven and the First Men”

The Legend : 

The Legend The story goes that there was a great flood that covered the Earth for years. The raven was walking on the sand which was finally visable . The raven walked with eyes and ears open, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash, and there as he walked up to it was a giant half buried clam shell. Inside where tiny creatures cowering in fear, and with his trickster tounge he coaxed the creatures to come out and play with him in the new world.

The Process : 

SV The Process -Designed and partly carved by Bill Reid. -Unveiled in 1980 - Permanently instilled at the MOA -Used one hundred and six fine-grained yellow cedar beams to create a workable carving block. - Beams air dried for 8-12 months, kiln dried for 2 months -Koppers International Canada Limited, laminated the beams into a four and a half ton block, 8ft X 8ft X 7ft

The Block : 

The Block

Slide 12: 

The carving of the sculpture it self took two years too carve. The clam shells and the raven were the first to be sculpted, George Norris and Gary Edenshaw roughed out the shape, George Rammell carved the men in the clam shell. Haida artists, Jim Hart, and Reg Davidson, worked on the final details of the sculptures. Bill Reid assisted with everything. The Carving Process

Slide 13: 

The installation and unveiling

Slide 14: 

The picture on the left is when the sculpture was in the process of being installed in the museum. The one on the right is Prince Charles unveiling and dedicating the sculpture on April 1st 1980

Slide 15: 

Hope you enjoyed......